. . . splendidly filmed and performed . . . Kal Böhm and the VPO play the orchestra music splendidly . . . Fischer-Dieskau and Prey are richly endowed vocally, and they are sympathetically in touch with their roles. Their singing is incomparable, and their appearance and visual presentation is also impressive. Much the same can be said of Mirella Freni's pert and saucy Susanna and Kiri te Kanawa's autumnal portrayal of the countess . . . The record sound is smooth, richly detailed, full of color and presence.

Record Review /
McKelvey,
American Record Guide / 01. November 2005

The performers are uniformly first-rate . . . Böhm conducts with a leisurely grace that never lags . . . The visuals are clear and well defined, with no hint of graininess or color shift. This is a ¿Le nozze di Figaro¿ that will impress you with all the ingenuity and effort put into its making . . . there¿s much to be enjoyed from Ponnelle¿s vision of the opera and its excellent cast.

Among dozens of fine Figaros on CD and DVD, few are as finely sung as this one . . . Herman Prey's Figaro is admirably sung in a firm baritone and aptly characterized. Sotoo, is his antagonist, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as the Count perpetually frustrated by the scheming wiles of Figaro and Susanna, here the perky Mirella Freni, who sings and acts like a dream. The Countess is creamy-voiced Kiri Te Kanawa, and the Cherubino, Maria Ewing, looks just like the horny, teenaged page she's supposed to be. The all-star leads are complemented by worthy supporting singers, the Vienna Philharmonic at the top of its form, and the experienced Mozartian, Karl Böhm conducting a stylishly fleet performance.